In honor of Presidents Day, I thought I’d share with you eight surprising things I’ve learned about our first President, George Washington. Washington is one of my biggest heroes. As such, I’ve devoted many hours to reading about his life. He was a driven, self-made man and a great leader. His biggest flaw was that he was a slave-owner. Despite this troubling transgression of human rights, he still possessed many admirable qualities. This article isn’t meant to extol Washington’s virtues or castigate him for his vices. I hope, however, that it humanizes him and draws you closer to knowing the man that, as much as any, helped found our republic.